Hey film fag,
You’re going to love Mad Max: Fury Road. It was not, at the outset, a movie I thought I would love, and now it’s my favorite of the year, possibly. It appears to be everything a homo would not naturally gravitate to – it is a loud, aggressive, nonstop joyride of guns and grease, like a football movie on steroids. I loved every minute of it. I thought those terrible Fast and the Furious movies had claimed the title of the most macho franchise, but Fury Road reminded me of who took on Toecutter and saved the Feral Kid (yes, I did some research). And while George Miller’s latest addition to the franchise keeps with Max’s bleak and ruthless desert dystopia, it stands above the rest — thanks to one badass woman.
Some very proud straight guys have complained about the film, claiming it’s a cleverly-disguised feminist propaganda piece. And yes, it is.
Max tends to unwillingly get involved in other people’s conflicts and this film keeps with that tradition. This time, his mission is to help Furiosa — a one-armed woman warrior played with uncompromising toughness by Charlize Theron — save a group of young women from systematic rape by a psycho overlord named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne — a performer from past Max films, so welcome back!). When Immortan Joe storms their prison chamber — now empty — a message has been left on the wall: “Our babies will not be warlords.”
Furiosa takes over from there. Tom Hardy’s crazier, gruffer, more taciturn Max is a dashing, very sexy sidekick. The low-key dom-sub dynamic between the two of them gets a little literal — at one point he’s leashed and muzzled and she’s tugging on his chain. The whole movie is one giant chase scene with tense moments of stillness and breathtaking cinematography mixed in to break it up. If you’re prone to headaches from loud movies, bring Advil.
Fucking with gender stereotypes and omitting a sex scene entirely (or rape scene, which tend to feature prominently in the Mad Max franchise), Fury Road is a bold and surprisingly feminist power anthem for our weird, dystopian times. We get the explosions and steampunk camp we need with the sleek social commentary we need more — and the movie is just really, really fun.
And there’s Tom Hardy, my god.
Love, Beastly
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Love, Beastly 